The term “link building” is becoming a common word in online marketing strategies because it directly relates to how popular your website is. But what exactly is “link building”?

Understanding link building

Link building is one tactic that website owners discovered as a way to get their websites to appear in the top results of search engines. The method by which search engines, such as Google, qualify websites was based on their web page rankings, in other words, it’s basically a question of website popularity. In early years, search engines determined this position by the number of “keywords” they have on their website, either on the text itself, the title, etc., which is basically any and all elements on the page.

Naturally, web programmers for the search engines figured out that website owners found a loophole in the existing system and were cramming way too many keywords into their web pages. They then designed the search engines to determine the quality of the website based on the number of links from external websites. Their thinking was, this website must be good or informative which is why many people are providing a link to it.

Theoretically, it was sound in principle. Unfortunately, as with any other good intention, this condition was also abused. Website owners found a way to acquire and set links towards their websites by listing themselves in link farms. Link farms are basically websites with nothing but links to other websites.

Thus, search engines got another overhaul and up to date, this is how they determine the quality of websites – they assigned a quality factor to the links pointing to your websites. Meaning it wasn’t in the number of links that your page has been referred to but in whether these links also have a high quality rating that will enable your website to be in the top pages of the search engines.

How to maximize link building in order to get high web page rankings?

Now that you have a basic comprehension of how link building was developed, what are the things that you need to do to initiate good links to raise your web page ranking?

First, you need to understand the different type of links at your disposal. There are (a) one-way links: inbound and outbound links and (b) two-way links: reciprocal links. Inbound links are those pointing to your website from other websites. This was the original intention of the search engine developers based on the concept that if someone likes your site, they’ll refer or recommend it to others. As such, they get more quality points and are highly recommended if you want to increase your web page ranking. Outbound links are those that you as a website owner point to a website other than yours. It may not increase your link popularity but neither will it decrease it. Reciprocal links, as the name suggests, is a two-way link. You can point to a different website at the same time expecting that website to point to yours. This will be to your advantage if the link pointing to yours has a high quality ranking.

The key is getting links from websites with high quality ranks. Also, getting listed in well-known directories, like Yahoo, is always a plus.

Second, you need to continue to offer creative, interesting and informative content to keep readers coming back for more. If they like your site, you don’t even need to ask them to create a link to your site, they’ll do it of their own volition.

Third, take advantage of your networks, like suppliers or customers. A good relationship with them will always ensure reciprocity with good links as well. You can always create new networks when you come across websites that you yourself find relevant to your business or personal life. You may choose to email the website owner and request a link from their site to yours. Some times, they may expect a reciprocal link, other times none is required. It will also be good if you ask them to visit your website prior to making their decision to know that you are above board with your request.

Who needs it?

If you want qualified traffic to your website, you’ll invest in a link building strategy. The higher your quality of links is, the better page ranking results you’ll get. It means that your website will always be on the first page of search results if you have a high-ranking web page. It usually implies a certain sense of trust in your website and therefore in your products and services as well if you have a lot of quality inbound links to your website. Be aware though that link building is a time-consuming process and its effects may not be seen and felt immediately. Nevertheless, if you persevere and take action based on what was mentioned earlier then expect to see results and a guaranteed increase in traffic in your website.